RI People & Appointments, Feb. 25: Novethic, Church of England Pensions Board, Ethical Investment Advisory Group, Liontrust

The latest ESG movers and shakers

Dominique Blanc is leaving his role as head of research at Novethic, the Paris-based ESG research/media company, financed by France’s sovereign wealth fund Caisse des Dépôts. Blanc has spent over 11 years overall at Novethic, mostly recently the past five years as its head of research.

Former Shell executive Clive Mather has been confirmed as Chair of the Church of England Pensions Board. Mather, whose previous roles include President and CEO of the oil giant’s Canada subsidiary, Shell Canada, will take over from retiring Chair, Jonathan Spencer in April. Mather, who also previously served as Chair of Shell Pensions Trust between 2008 and 2018, was confirmed last week at the Church’s General Synod.

Faith Ward, Chief Responsible Investment Officer at Brunel Pension Partnership, has joined the Ethical Investment Advisory Group (EIAG) of the Church of England. She is Co-Chair of the Transition Pathway Initiative and Chair of the reporting and Assessment Advisory Committee at the Principles for Responsible Investment. She is among several new appointees to the EIAG, the result of a trustee led review of the EIAG, an update to the Terms of Reference, and the formation of a new Nominations Committee. The newly formed EIAG will meet for the first time in March, chaired by the Bishop of Manchester, David Walker.

Yannick Glemarec has been selected as the new Executive Director of the Green Climate Fund, the South Korea-based body which supports climate action in developing countries. He served as UN Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director for Policy and Programme in UN Women from 2015 to 2018. He succeeds Howard Bamsey who resigned from the GCF last year amid what was termed a “fraught” board meeting.

Stéphanie Chrétien has been named as Chief Sustainability and Impact Officer at Demeter, the €1bn Paris-based venture capital and private equity firm focused on the energy and ecological transition. She has been a partner at Demeter since March 2018, focusing on Paris Green Fund and worked previously at Roland Berger strategy consulting firm.

Bjørn Kjærand Haugland, formerly Chief Sustainability Officer at assurance firm DNV GL, is the new CEO of the business-driven climate initiative Norway 203040.

Industry figures such as Aviva’s Jean-Francois Coppenolle, Deloitte’s Eric Dugelay and Michael Zimonyi of the Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB) have been appointed to a new climate reporting panel. The European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) said its European Lab Steering Group has appointed the Project Task Force for its first project on climate-related reporting. It said: “The appointed members have practical experience and expertise in climate-related reporting from companies of different sizes, users (analysts and investors), the accountancy profession, civil society, academia and other constituencies.”Valborg Lie has joined the Sustainable Advisory Committee at £11.2bn (€12.9bn) UK funds group Liontrust. She is a former Head of Responsible Investment with the Asset Management Team at the Norwegian Ministry of Finance and runs her own firm, Borg Consulting.

Mary Schapiro, the former Chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission who has key roles with the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures and the Sustainable Accounting Standards Board, has joined the new International Advisory Council of exchange operator Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX). The panel, which also includes former HSBC CEO Stuart Gulliver and Alibaba’s Joseph Tsai, will advise the board of HKEX.

Mike Amey, head of ESG strategies at fixed income giant PIMCO is retiring, according to a Citywire report. He would be succeed by the current CIO for US core fixed income Scott Mather, who has been part of the firm’s ESG effort for several years.

Peter Castellas is stepping down as CEO of the Carbon Markets Institute, the Australian advocacy group whose board includes Emma Herd, CEO of the Investor Group on Climate Change. He remains a director of CMI but is starting as CEO of Tasman Environmental Markets next month.

Sev Vettivetpillai, the CEO of LGT Impact, is leaving the firm, part of the investment firm owned by Liechtenstein’s royal family, according to a Reuters report citing an unnamed source. It said LGT’s senior impact investment team were leaving as part of a shake-up, with LGT saying it had decided to integrate its impact unit with its other businesses. Vettivetpillai joined last year having previously worked for buyout fund Abraaj.

Michelle Scrimgeour has been appointed CEO of Legal & General Investment Management, joining from Columbia Threadneedle Investments, where she is currently Chief Executive Officer for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Bruno Schroder, patriarch of the UK fund manager Schroders, has died aged 86 after a short illness. He had been a director since 1963.

Michael Reinhard has been appointed CEO of Universal-Investment, the German funds house with €411bn under management. Currently Chief Operating Officer, he takes over from Bernd Vorbeck, who joins the Supervisory Board.

Cheikh Oumar Seydi has been named as the new Africa Director of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, joining from the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC), where he was the regional director for sub-Saharan Africa, based in Nairobi.

The St. Paul’s Institute, the body attached to the central London cathedral which tackles questions of morality and ethics and how they relate to finance, business and the economy, is seeking a new Director. The post is currently held by former S&P executive Barbara Ridpath.